Viking Sky’s 2019 Stranding Had Potential To Be “One of the Worst” Disasters at Sea

The Viking Sky stranding of March 2019 in the Hustadvika area of Norway, which necessitated the rescue of hundreds of guests before the ship was able to limp back to port, had the “potential to develop into one of the worst disasters at sea in modern times,” a Norwegian report has found.

Furthermore, the ship never should have departed in the first place “under the prevailing circumstances,” a sentiment that both Viking and Fincantieri, the shipyard that built the ship, disagree with. 

According to the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA), the ship experienced a blackout, which in turn caused a loss of propulsion and steering right in the middle of a storm. The ship ran aground with 1,374 people onboard and the full blackout lasted 39 minutes. Once the ship had propulsion, it was only able to go between 1 to 5 knots.

The NSIA’s report identified operational, technical, and organizational safety issues that contributed to the blackout. Primarily, the report found the cause of the outage was “insufficient lubricating oil in all of the operating diesel generators’ lubricating oil sump tanks, in combination with the pitching and rolling in rough seas.”

Among the errors the report accuses Viking off – in addition to the insufficient lubrication – is a lack of training for a full blackout. While the crew had practiced blackout drills, they had not practiced recovering from a full blackout without a standby generator had never been drilled.

“Insufficient training likely contributed to why the blackout recovery was time consuming,” the report said.

Additionally, the ship had only three out of four diesel generators actually working when it left Tromso at the start of the sailing and the lube oil sump tank design was non-compliant with applicable regulations.

“… both crew and passengers were unknowingly exposed to an increased risk as the vessel did not have the redundancy required under the Safe Return to Port (SRtP) regulations. As Viking Sky did not comply with the applicable safety standards, it should not have departed Tromso under the prevailing circumstances.”

In total, the NSIA issued a total of 14 safety recommendations to relevant parties with the aim of promoting maritime safety, including issuing recommendations to Fincantieri, which built the ship, to review and strengthen the design process “to ensure that lube oil sump tanks are designed and built in compliance with the SOLAS regulation and Class Rules in the future.”

The NSIA also recommended that Fincantieri investigate if any of its other ships designed at the yard have non-compliant lube oil sump tanks – and take necessary action if relevant.

Fincantieri sent the following statement regarding the incident in an email to TMR:

“Regarding the Viking Sky incident that occurred in Hustadvika, Norway, in 2019, and the subsequent allegations regarding the ship’s compliance with class requirements, Fincantieri has already submitted and shared its stance with the Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA). This position underlines Viking Sky’s full compliance with all class (SOLAS) requirements, dismissing the wrong assumptions made by the NSIA. It is worth noting that such wrong assumptions have been rejected also by the Norwegian Maritime Authority itself in its official statement issued on March 19, 2024.”
 
“All systems aboard the vessel have been meticulously designed and commissioned in alignment with Class Regulations and, where specific regulations are absent, with the operational preferences of the shipowner. Despite this, upon being informed of the incident, Fincantieri promptly provided support to Viking both during and after the event.”
 
“It is crucial to highlight that the NSIA’s assumption misguidedly attributes the possible causes of the incident. The primary and overwhelming cause was the incorrect filling level of the oil tanks, leading to a loss of suction, as agreed also by the Norwegian Maritime Authority in its official statement above referred to.”
 
“Despite Fincantieri bearing no responsibility for the incident, the company acknowledges the report and commits to examining the recommendations put forth by the NSIA. This examination will involve collaboration with all stakeholders to assess further potential actions regarding future projects.”

In addition to Viking, Fincantieri has built ships for many other cruise lines including Princess Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Silversea Cruises, MSC Cruises, Cunard, Virgin Voyages, Norwegian Cruise Line, and more.

Viking, in a separate statement, deferred to the Norwegian Maritime Authority. 

“We will defer to the expertise and guidance of the Norwegian Maritime Authority and our classification society, Lloyd’s Register.  They have both confirmed that the vessel meets all required safety standards.  We continue to reiterate the importance of operating our vessels so that the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew will always be given top priority,” a spokesperson said.